


Final Thoughts of an Ylissean Queen

by hernobleness



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Death, Family, Sacrifice, emmerout, little angsty, n o r e a c t i o n, no but this is actually very serious, w a s i w r o n g t h e n
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-22
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-12-05 08:37:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11574438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hernobleness/pseuds/hernobleness
Summary: Emmeryn's last thoughts as she stood above the Plegia Castle courtyard, ready to give up her life for the greater good.---She realized that in a few moments all of the responsibility she'd held all those years, coupled with whatever aftereffects this act of hers would bring, would fall to him. Ylisse would be on the shoulders of her little brother.Though it was fair to say his shoulders were not so little anymore.---





	Final Thoughts of an Ylissean Queen

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally my chapter for "No Reaction... Was I Wrong, Then?" in my other work, A Few Notes, but it was just too long for the 30 second song. I didn't want all this to go to waste, though, so here it is, uploaded as a new story!

How was it that even from so high up, she could still hear her brother's footsteps below? Or perhaps she was just imagining the sound each time she saw his foot meet the sandstone in his sprint of desperation towards her. Emmeryn let her eyes follow him as he drew nearer. He always did behave rashly under pressure, she remembered with a twinge of reminiscence.

Even if he were to reach her, nothing would change. This was what Emmeryn thought right, and so she knew it must be.

Closing her eyes only for a moment was enough to pull her attention back forward, her gaze settling instead on the vast expanse of desert mountains and villages before her. There was so much to be seen from where she stood in the sky, and yet as she tuned out Chrom's footsteps, she truly couldn't hear a sound. It seemed as though the world had stopped in the wake of her imploration. Everything save for her brother seemed to be still.

_No reaction..._ she noted solemnly. She had hoped her words would have invoked  _something_  within the Plegians - a change of heart, perhaps.  _Was I wrong, then?_

Once more, she let her eyes glance down to her brother. He was rapidly approaching her, putting everything he had into each stride he made. When had he gotten so old? When had he stopped being the young boy who'd she'd tutored in the history of their country, who'd batted her hand away when she tried to run it through his hair, who was always so desperate to grow up and be independent yet content forever being at her back?

The screech of a bird sounded overhead. Emmeryn glanced upwards at its underside, realizing with her gaze no longer on her brother, who always met her eyes as a boy, that he had indeed become a man. So many years had passed...

_Chrom,_   _this is some torch I'm passing you,_ she thought, realizing that in a few moments all of the responsibility she'd held all those years, coupled with whatever aftereffects this act of hers would bring, would fall to him. Ylisse would be on the shoulders of her little brother, though it was fair to say his shoulders were not so little anymore.

Would the people be disappointed in her for leaving them? Would Chrom resent her for it? Would he at least understand someday why she was making this choice? Surely he hadn't wanted, hadn't planned to spend his life with the nation's weight in his hands, but she hoped one day he would see that she'd done this for him and for their people. She hoped... No – she had no doubt in her mind that he could handle the weight of the Exalt's crown, and he would lead their people just as well as she had – if not better – in her wake.

Without realizing it, Emmeryn had watched the bird as it flew overhead, trailing its shadowed wings as it glided through the sky. A bittersweet "hmm" escaped her as a smile in equal mood graced her lips. She knew that one way or another, this sacrifice would give rise to a new age for the Halidom. Chrom's age was coming, and she would be the one to prompt it.

"So be it."

She had lived a full life. A life rich in color and love. In spite of the loss of her parents and the saddened, angry spirits Ylisse had once been home to, she had found acceptance, forgiveness, purpose... Love. The love of a younger sister who knew no other mother, of a younger brother who she watched become a man, of her only childhood friend who she trusted as the protector and, in a way, as a surrogate father to her precious siblings just as she'd been their mother. She only hoped that as the years went on, her family would be so blessed as to find the love she had, and hopefully they would find it in an era of peace.

Emmeryn opened her eyes with resolve, focusing on the vast landscape before her as she took one, two, three, four slow and graceful steps forward. The tips of her boots poised on the edge of the protruding rock, floating on the edge of empty air, she brought her hands to her chest clasped in prayer.

_Mother, Father..._ She thought of her deceased parents, without whom she'd lived for too long. As she brought the edges of her feet over the platform's edge, she laid her weight on her heels, balancing herself only a moment longer.  _At last_ _we'll meet again._

Only a slight lean forward, and the warm desert wind rushed over her face like an invisible tide.

She let herself fall.


End file.
